As is well known, the process of producing a color image in a silver halide color photographic material (hereinunder referred to as a color photographic material) comprises developing exposed silver halide grains with an aromatic primary amine compound, and reacting the oxidation product of the aromatic primary amine compound with a coupler to thereby form a dye. In this process, cyan, magenta and yellow dyes are respectively formed by using a phenolic or naphtholic coupler, a 5-pyrazolone, pyrazolinobenzimidazole, pyrazolotriazole, indazolone or cyanoacetylic coupler, and an acylacetamide or dibenzoylmethane coupler.
It is desired that the dye image formed by this process will not change in color or fade after prolonged exposure to light or even if it is left to stand in a hot and humid atmosphere. In order to meet this requirement, proposals have been made to select couplers that are resistant to color change or fading, to use an UV absorber, or to incorporate a compound capable of preventing any color change or fading that results from exposure to light.
However, most of the techniques proposed to date are directed to the prevention or inhibition of the fading that occurs in the dye image as a result of exposure to light, moisture or heat, and very few proposals have been made concerning techniques that are effective in preventing undesired staining in the background. Under these circumstances, color photographic materials are available that produce a dye image having satisfactory resistance to light, moisture and heat but even such photographic materials are not adequately protected from undesired staining in the background. A color photographic product having good protection from color change and fading both in the background and in the image area is desired.
Most of the efforts made so far to prevent or inhibit the undesired staining in the background of a color photographic material depend on incorporating a fairly large amount of an UV absorber in the photographic material. However, using a great amount of UV absorber in a reflection color photographic material is not desired since an undesired color formation occurs in the background. Some UV absorbers lose their resistance to UV rays after the lapse of a certain period of time, accelerated staining occurs in the background. The use of a high content of UV absorber causes other problems: the physical properties of the gelatin coating in the color photographic material are impaired and this leads to reduced hardenability, sweating or even the formation of reticulation.
It is known that the staining of the background that results from exposure to heat and moisture depends largely upon the type of coupler used, but the techniques that are effective in preventing such staining are much fewer than those available for the purpose of preventing or inhibiting the undesired staining in the background that results from exposure to light.